Do you often use the public buses in Abu Dhabi to commute from the suburbs to the city? Your bus trips have just got cheaper.
The Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) of the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi has implemented a unified bus fare system, making your daily commute more affordable and convenient. This new system, rolled out on Wednesay, February 28, streamlines fares and aims to encourage public bus usage by offering seamless connectivity between suburbs and cities in the emirate.
How has the bus fare changed?
Public bus fares have been standardised at Dh2 for basic fares, with an additional fee of 5 fils per kilometre.
The cost of a single trip is capped at Dh5.
Earlier, passengers would have to pay a basic fare of Dh2 for each new bus ride when they changed buses on their route.
Regional trips (from suburbs): Dh2 plus Dh0.05 per kilometre.
Now, with the bus fare being paid using the Hafilat card, which the emirate’s official public bus card, the cost of the trip will be calculated from the first bus trip to the last one as a single trip.
Free bus transfers – What you need to know
Planning a trip across Abu Dhabi? ITC now offers free bus transfers, allowing you to seamlessly switch between services within 60 minutes of your initial tap-out, but you need to fulfill the following conditions:
Transfer within 60 minutes - Pay once and enjoy multiple journeys within an hour.
One-way transfers - Free transfers are only valid for continuing your journey in the same direction.
Two transfers maximum - You can switch between three buses in total with free transfers.
Combining services - This benefit applies to both standard bus services and the Abu Dhabi Link on-demand service.
How to use the Hafilat card
According to ITC, these are the steps you should follow when taking public transport using the Hafilat card:
Tap the Hafilat card on the machine reader on the bus. At this stage, the system deducts the initial fare from the balance of the preloaded card.
When getting off the bus, tap the card on the reader again, and the system will calculate the total cost of the trip and deduct the fare accordingly.
You can check the balance on your Hafilat card and recharge it, if needed, through TVMs and recharge machines at bus stations and stops as well as at malls in Abu Dhabi, ticket sales offices located at bus stations or even online, through the Hafilat card website - https://hafilat.darb.ae/
Benefits for monthly and weekly pass bus users
ITC also highlighted that passengers who use monthly and weekly Halifat card passes will benefit from the changes because the geographical coverage of the permits has been expanded.
As per the ITC website – itc.gov.ae – earlier, these passes could only be used for bus trips within the city of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra regions. Now, it can be used for city and suburban lines. Here is how much the pass will cost you:
- Halifat card weekly pass – Dh35, valid seven days from purchase.
- Halifat card monthly pass – Dh95, valid 30 days from purchase.
You can buy these passes from TVMs and the ticket sales offices located at bus stations in Abu Dhabi.
